To love Him more than anyone and anything

SCRIPTURE:

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. Luke 14:25-33

OBSERVATION:

In one of the hardest sayings Jesus ever gave, He laid out the most extreme picture of what it means to follow Him. Firstly, to follow Jesus means to give Him absolute priority far over the closest of one’s family relationships - father, mother, wife, children, brothers or sisters. A bit of explanation is required over the use of the word “hate” by the Lord here which seems to contradict the main tone and thrust of all of the Lord’s other teachings. For example, if Jesus said to love our neighbor as ourselves, how much more would He expect us to love our own parents, wife and children…. He also admonished the Pharisees for creating a law to circumvent one’s responsibility to provide for his parents by saying they had used the money to give to God instead. Even while suffering intensely on the cross, the Lord thought of his mother, asking John to take care of her like his own mother. Also, Jesus also warned that anyone angry with his brother would be subject to judgment, what more hate him literally?

The Lord was actually using hyperbolic language here to give us a picture of how much more we must love Him before anyone or anything else. In the Old Testament, we are told how the Lord saw that Leah was hated and so opened her womb…. Did Jacob hate Leah in the sense that he loathed and despised her? No, rather, it showed how much greater Jacob’s love for Rachel was. Jacob provided for Leah throughout her life, and did not take any other women as his wives after Rachel’s death, leaving Leah as his main companion not counting the maidservants. The apostles like Peter continued to stay with their wives after the Ascension, and the apostle Paul exhorted husbands to love their wives as Christ loves the church.

So, coming back to the main point, Jesus is saying that our devotion to follow Him must take first place, far above every relationship, possession or anything else. It must be the first and utmost priority in our lives, before anything and everything else. In the early Christian church, many who chose to remain faithful to Christ were rejected by their own families, lost property and possessions, and even lost their lives. In Roman times, a mother who just gave birth was prevented from feeding her baby unless she said “Caesar is Lord”, and she had to hear her baby’s crying grow softer and softer, starving to death before she too was killed.

Today, many Christians also continue to face severe sacrifices in many countries like Iraq, North Korea, and Sudan. Basically, the message to us is that to follow Christ might mean losing everything in this world, our beloved families, our possessions, even our own lives. Many of us living in comfort and free from major persecution can’t quite relate, but in time to come, when Tribulation hits us, our faith will be put to the test in the most severe way.

APPLICATION:

What if the Lord came and told us today “Leave everything and just come follow Me?” Would we be willing to just leave and go? The human nature desires to be safe, to be in control, to have security and peace of mind knowing there is enough day by day for ourselves and our families. It takes great faith to just let go and trust God. No one knows the size or nature of the cross that will is his or hers to carry. However, what we know is that we are called to carry our own cross for Jesus, to consider nothing we have our own, but all for the Lord, to serve Him according to His will.

The Lord asks us to carry our cross daily. To envision big sacrifices might be too much for us at this point in time. Instead, we do best to seek to live closely with the Lord, to please Him in the way with live, trying to make changes according to His leading. Ultimately, it is only those who truly know the Lord, who will be prepared to trust Him through trial and tribulation. Those who do not know Him well, will not stand.

Pray to the Lord that He will lead us to love Him more and more, more than anyone and anything else. Pray that we will understand and feel His love more and more, that we might learn to love as He first loved us.

PRAYER:

Precious Lord Jesus, You came and lived and gave up everything for us, even suffering the pain and humiliation of the cross because You love us. Help us O Lord, for we are weak and needy, and often unwilling to carry the cross set before us. Teach us, we pray, Lord, and empower us, that we might learn to submit our will to You day by day. Draw us, we pray, Lord, to know You deeper and more intimately, for it is in that genuine relationship with You that we can be strong and meet the trials and challenges before us. Turn our hearts ever to You we pray. Show us Your precious love O Lord, help us know and experience Your great love so deeply, Lord. We praise You, and bless You, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.